Of Bubblegum and Stomach Aches and Pigs That Fly
by keeiko
Summary: So there they sat, holding their sides as they laughed like idiots, not caring that every person in the gate was wondering if they were insane. Because hell- they kind of were. NaLu (prompt: character A meets character B waiting in an airport gate)
**I own nothing. Zip. Nada. None.**
•••

Lucy was beyond excited, and who could blame her?

She'd finally (finAlly) been recognized as an author, and had gotten a request for publishing her book. The head of the publishing company, Mrs. Scarlet, ("please, call me Erza") had emailed Lucy, offering to meet in person to discuss the details. Of course, Lucy hyperventilated, ran around her apartment for a while, sat down, and typed a sophisticated reply.

And here she was, clutching her suitcase as she practically squirmed in her seat waiting at the gate. Suffice to say she'd been there long before the flight was suppose to leave; two hours to be exact. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd mess this up somehow. Lucy shook her head and drew her brows together in a look of determination. _Stop worrying, Lucy_. _You finally did it! You should be happy_ _for yourself!_ Feeling satisfied, she nodded to herself.

"...sit here?"

Lucy started. So lost in thought was she, she hadn't even noticed a person standing above her. As she looked up, she found herself wondering how it was even possible to miss such a person.

His hair was the first thing that caught her attention. It was spiky and unruly, pointing in all different directions. But the most prominent part of this was the fact that his hair was really, _really_ PINK. Like, bubblegum pink. The whole shebang.

"Do I got somethin' on my face?" The man in question rubbed at his cheek in concern.

"What? Oh- no!" Lucy laughed nervously.

"Huh. Weirdo."

Lucy raised her eyebrows. What, was this boy nine? "Excuse me?"

His mischievous grin confirmed her question. "Nothin'."

Lucy almost smirked. _That's what I thought. Pff, '_ weirdo _'? Why the nerve of that guy-_

"Hey earth to weirdo, you're leaving this world again. Anyway, I didn't really hear your answer to my question."

And before Lucy could bite out a retort, he was close. Too close. Like, so close she could see how goddamn gorgeous he was: the slope of his nose, the curve of his eyes, the down-right sinful line of his jaw; Lucy felt her face heat up. She cursed her hopeless hormones for immediately finding someone attractive, especially one with motherfucking _pink hair_.

"Uh, what question?"

"Man you really must've been out of it." He snickered, leaning back (must to Lucy's chagrin- wait no you didn't read that).

She huffed, crossing her arms. "Oh come on, will you just tell me what the question was already?"

He put his hands up in defense, chuckling. "Okay, okay, lady. Calm down. I just wanted to know if I could sit there." He shrugged with a grin and pointed beside her.

Lucy looked to her left and saw that her bag occupied the entire seat.

He seemed to read her mind. "Of course," he mused, "if it's already taken, I understand."

Despite herself, Lucy found herself chucking. She hefted up her bag and dropped it under her legs, then patted the seat next to her with a smile. He smiled back and sat down.

A beat passed.

"Yo, wha-"  
"Hey I just-"

They blinked at each other, then began to laugh nervously.

"Alright, how about you go first, eh?" The boy winked.

Lucy faltered, though he seemed as if the gesture was normal. Blinking, she clasped her hands in front of her.

"Oh, er, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for being rather rude earlier."

He looked taken aback, but seemed to be more amused than anything. "What? Oh, haha, it's all good. I'd be surprised if you didn't do anything. After all, I'm pretty 'aggravating.' Or at least that's what they tell me."

Lucy laughed, then almost put a hand over her mouth in horror. Did she just-? Oh, but she did. She had just completely and totally giggled like a fucking 12 year old schoolgirl. Lucy paled.

If he noticed anything, he didn't voice it.

"So..." Lucy cleared her throat and smoothed down her pants, trying to gain a least a _little_ bit of her dignity back. "What was it you were going to ask me?"

He started. "What?"

Lucy's face broke out in a smirk and she leaned forward. " _Hellooo, earth to_ _weirdo?_ Coming in! Anyone homee?"

For a split second, she thought she saw his smug face disappear, replaced by something far more vulnerable and far more...bashful?

His face was almost as pink as his hair.

And it suddenly became quite clear to Lucy, as her cheeks took on a similar shade, that she in fact sort of understood the reason for this seemingly OOC reaction.

Their noses were practically brushing.

And then the moment was gone, and he returned to his regular unaffected self, grin plastered haughtily on his face.

"I see what you did there."

"You- you did?"

He raised an eyebrow.

Lucy mentally kicked herself for being the space cadette of the century. "Oh. Yes. Of course."

There was a pause. Then it quickly dawned on the two that they were not moving from their position; Lucy's nose was inches from his, her hair tickling his forehead. A rush of awkward silence fell over them.

And then Lucy snorted. Honest-to-god actually snorted. Like a pig. She tilted her heard back as a sudden burst of hysterical laughter escaped her mouth, and she felt the sting of tears behind her eyelids.

He seemed at a loss for words. But as she continued cackling, he couldn't help but crack a smile. Then he began to chuckle. Then he doubled over because hell- if this wasn't this stupidest thing in the world.

So there they sat, holding their sides as they laughed like idiots, not caring that every person in the gate was wondering if they were insane. They began to slow down after a few minutes, Lucy panting heavily, resting a hand over her stomach. Face red, she glanced up at him.

And couldn't help but smile (painfully, too) at his expression. His face was split in an exuberant grin, eyes crinkled and shining with tears of mirth. His cheeks were red, shoulders still shaking from laughter.

"Owww," he whined, clutching at his stomach. "God, stop making me smile- my tummy fucking hurts."

She scoffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I wasn't doing anything, _weirdo._ "

He grumbled into his chest. "You don't _have_ to do anything, _weirdo_."

She was about to retort when she took in his words. She didn't have to do anything to make him smile. And Lucy felt warmth spread up to her cheeks, and she was about to-

"You look weird enough on your own."

"Why you-!" Lucy gasped. "You little piece of shi-"

Then he broke out into laughter again, in between bouts of "OW" and "IT HURTS SO MUCH".

"Serves you right." Lucy huffed, folding her arms and straightening in her seat.

"S-sorry," he whimpered, pulling himself up.

"No you're not."

"Alright you got me."

"HEY!"

"Pfff. You're so easy to annoy." He snickered.

She chose to ignore this comment. "And you never answered my question, dummy. What were you going to say?"

"Hm? Oh! I just wanted to know your name."

Lucy raised her eyebrows. A simple, friendly question? She'd been expecting an insult, or witty comment.

"I- uh. My name is Lucy."

He tilted his head. "Huh. Luigi. That's a weird name; it suits you."

"LUCY. L-U-C-Y."

"I know, I know, Looney, you already told me your name."

"hEY-"

"I'm Natsu! It's a pleasure to meet you, _Lucy._ " He held out his hand then. And Lucy found herself drawn to him- like a magnet pulling her towards his bright smile and twinkling eyes. She wasn't even on the plane yet, and she was already soaring.

Her fingertips brushed Natsu's palm.

She grinned and gripped his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Natsu."  
•••

Seven minutes later, Lucy's eyes widened as she realized with a start that there were _dozens_ of unoccupied seats around the gate.


End file.
